Reuters: Sumner Redstone, chairman of media company Viacom and broadcaster CBS, said his daughter Shari was no longer heir-apparent to his conglomerate and she would leave its board as part of a deal he reached with her, The New York Times reported on its website on Thursday.

For a long time, Shari Redstone was expected to take the mantle from her father as chairman of Viacom and CBS, but a public dispute over corporate governance between the two last year has left the issue of his succession unclear.

Sumner Redstone said a deal had been reached in principle to buy out his daughter's interest in CBS and Viacom. It involves her receiving control of movie theater firm National Amusements Inc in exchange, the paper said, citing the transcript of an interview to be shown on business news channel CNBC on Thursday.

Alas, even this is in dispute:

Nancy Sterling, a spokeswoman for Shari Redstone, said Sumner Redstone's comments were inaccurate and there was no final agreement.